I'm ashamed to admit that I procrastinate in ways I can't even begin to tell, eat all I can find in the fridge (this is so bad!) and take long naps -which is good because I barely sleep thanks to college :)

I totally, totally eat random foods when alone, not meals! What a funny realization. And many too-in-depth conversations with my dog. And I'm with you Joanna, always convinced I hear footsteps or a doorknob turn...

I cook a lot and leave the dishes everywhere until just before Dustin comes home!I also eat random foods at random times-popcorn at 11 pm for the win. And I always leave the tv on for background noise; that way the random little house noises don't scare me as much!Abby

Yes to trying on all of the clothes I never wear (this is totally a female thing, I guess)!

Eat peanut butter out of the jar (without feeling guilty), stay in pajamas all day, start to clean the computer room but get distracted and look at old photos, letters, etc. instead, binge-watch Netflix.

Oh, Joanna, the intruders ALWAYS come to my place when I'm home alone... such an irrational and ridiculous fear - but it happens every time! I try to stave off the bad guys by watching bad TV and eating ice cream (so far it's worked:)

I stay in my pajamas, and watch "that show so and so is talking about" then 5 hours later... get dressed and try for the 100th time to see if today will be the day I master the cat eye with my eyeliner!

browse on my iphone, lying on the bed, in peace. (With a toddler around, I dont get to do this always). Take out lunch, with dessert. Make elaborate plans to knock off some items from the to-do list, but eventually do nothing, since the browsing and planning ate up all my day. Argh!

When my husband travels I eat dinner in bed and let the dog sleep with me every night (the only time he's allowed on the bed!) It makes me feel safe. Also, bask in a clean house that stays clean for a whole week because it's just me :) However, being that I'm 6 mos. pregnant these routines will probably change dramatically here soon!

I recently moved to a new place and live alone. I currently have eight different projects spread throughout my living and dining room in various stages of completion because I don't have roommates to be mindful of. I also eat random foods at random times, esp. when I'm working on a project and don't want to take the time to make a "real" meal.

try the clothes: check. food that makes no sense: check. talk with cat: check. i also sing laudly while doing chores around the house. and dance. and watch silly girly movies. but sometimes the house gets really tidy so yay ;)

I do all of this, minus the talking to the cat. I don't have one, I just talk to myself. And turn the music up really loud and sing.

And I am always afraid of intruders too! Last time my roomies were all gone I called the police at 12:30 a.m. to come check my house. I woke up to a noise and was convinced someone was upstairs. They kindly told me that it is better to be safe than sorry, and they checked the whole house and then left me to sleep in peace. :-)

I try on all my highest heels and walk in them there and from in front of the mirror convincing myself that one day they will turn into my walking shoes (now being only trod-from-taxi-to-restaurant shoes, hehe). And of course, I annoy my neighbours from the apartment below with the sound of the heels on the wooden floors. :)

I sing as loud as I can in German, much to the cats' chagrin, I watch Sex and the City with a glass or three of wine, and I become a weirdo Pinterest addict (bonus points if I start "pinning" random things while singing to myself in German also while watching Sex and the City).

Tidy everything and then enjoy sitting in complete peace in my lovely house. Eat whatever I can find that requires no cooking at all.Spend hours looking at old images of London and then try and find then on google street view today.Or nothing at all. Can go either way.

I usually start a sewing and/or DIY project that I've seen on a blog. Work for a while, get frustrated, eat something (nutella, cheese, etc. are all acceptable), work on it some more, then convince myself to get out of the house and out of my pajamas, come home and drink wine and watch Netflix!

I LOVE this post simply because, well, it's quite rare I am home alone. When I am - it's all about the kitchen. Cooking something slowly.....sippy slowly on some wine.....and slow music going. It's all about the slow, apparently!

Oh my gosh...whenever my husband travels for work and I'm left alone to fend for myself, I go all out. He doesn't care for pasta (what kind of monster is he???), so I'll usually make a (way too big) bowl of delicious, creamy pasta with some warm, crusty bread on the side (give me ALL the carbs). I'll drink a couple of glasses of wine...which inevitably turns into "How did that whole bottle disappear?" and watch TV shows he wouldn't care to miss (this is how I got into Veronica Mars, Downton Abbey, Felicity...)

Definitely eat weird shit at weird times... Probably would disgust other people. And wear my grubbiest sweatpants. Usually don't shower. Watch tv but then end up stalking on my iphone instead and have to rewind what I was watching like 5-6 times. Dance in my bathroom like a total weirdo while I get ready to absurd music!

I do work out videos in clothing I would never go to the gym in. I normally eat some odd assortment of things for dinner.... 5 PM saltines and organic Peanut Butter, 7 PM some healthy cereal (with fiber) that really tastes a lot like cardboard, 9 PM dive into the dark chocolate stash we have under our bar....

and all the while, normally watching re-runs of big bang theory, lost, homeland, or movies i have seen because i don't want to really have to pay attention.

I eat endless supplies of kettle chips with french onion dip, drink lots of red wine, and watch Food Network until I fall asleep on the couch. (then drag myself to bed whenever I wake up in the middle of the night!)

I totally try on all the clothing i never wear. :) Sometimes i go really fancy and put on some heels and red lipstick too. Also, i eat too much. I cook dinner for two and will eat all by myself, sometimes in bed. I love this new series, such a great idea!

I definitely eat random things. Last weekend I was alone and had ramen noodles and a chocolate chip cookie for dinner, the next day I had oatmeal at 11am and then 2 corn dogs and pickles for dinner. Total randomness since I just eat foods that appeal to me in the moment, not that need to be presentable to an audience!

i love reading everyone's answers. next time i'm definitely doing the try on all the clothing i never wear thing -- that's great! i usually order pad thai, watch reruns of Friends, HGTV or cooking shows, and paint my nails.

I lived alone for years and years, and then I got married 4 years ago and promptly had 3 children. I am forgetting what alone time is like... But for me it was, popcorn, candy, magazines, take out chinese, and a movie.

Attempt a long bath, but usually cut short due to the amount of times I jump in and out of tub to investigate noises. Eat bread & cheese & chocolate (& sometimes Doritos), drink copious amounts of red wine, and watch Bravo and International House Hunters. Shop on Sephora online after several glasses of said wine and go to bed with no less than 3 lights on in the house.

so boring but i CLEAN. if i am home alone that means my 5 kids and husband are gone. so i clean so i can enjoy my efforts. i enjoy it too, it's very therapeutic for me. i love a clean QUIET home. after that is over and if i am still home alone, i READ or watch NETFLIX. some down time is so uncommon here, i would probably VEG too. (blue belle ice cream straight out of the bucket.) ☺

With 2 kids under 4, a dog and an introverted husband I rarely get the house to myself but when I do I smoke a spliff, listen to bob dylan, play with my makeup (usually do a Lisa Eldridge tutorial), eat cheese and pate for supper, and look at french chateaus for sale.

(After I put my daughter to bed and if I have an ounce of energy left and don't collapse unconscious into bed at 8pm): Spoonful of nutella! and cup of chamomile tea while watching the latest dvd find from the library.

OK this is SO embarrassing but I will sometimes put on a roomy top/ dress and shove a pillow or rolled up towels down the front to see how i would look pregnant! (Like a complete and total insane person)…I also try the weird hairstyles and beauty remedies I find on Pinterest, like sugar waxing which was a painful, messy, unsuccessful endeavor…And then the usual stuff like watching things my boyfriend wouldn't be interested in (which often ends up being documentaries, oddly enough) and eating everything in sight

My husband is in the middle of a grueling medical residency (same type of program as your brother-in-law, Joanna), so after I put my toddler to bed every night I am essentially home alone. I am usually so tired after my own day at work that I just shove food in my mouth and binge watch HBO (what's up, VEEP!), but your post and these great comments make me think I should have more fun! Maybe learn a silly skill or an easy instrument? And yes, I often eat nutella out of the jar, but would do that with hubby home as well ;-) Maybe I'll try it while doing squats in my underwear.

Joanna, you must be my anxiety twin. I'm home with Grace while my husband is on a 5 day business trip, and I barely slept a wink last night bc I kept hearing weird noises. I ended up bringing a knife and my keys (to hit the panic button!) into my room in case a "bag guy" came in. Oh, and I order Chinese take-out and eat it straight from the box with chopsticks and watch Parenthood.

I am dying laughing at this! I can see this as a web series or something.

I am 100% into eating random foods (I had a bowl of steamed cauliflower with butter around 11pm last night followed by Reese's Pieces), doing zumba in the living room in my undies, and having one-woman dance parties with the only acceptable dance moves beings those that would embarrass others if they were seen in public.

I'm home a lot these days due to pre-term labor and bed rest. I watch a lot of romantic comedies, wander into the new baby's room probably 10 times a day and tell myself this will all be worth it, and read. I also fantasize about my first postpartum glass of wine…a lot.

Sing loudly, talk to myself and the cats, jump around, rarely wear pants, interview myself like I'm on the Daily Show, cry for no other reason than I feel like crying, clap for the same non-reason, and honestly, even though this is embarrassing it must be said, fart so loudly I've scared the cats. :)

Haha. I love all of these comments! I definitely eat popcorn at 11 pm. Or 7 pm. Or 10 pm. and watch endless episodes of New Girl. I always mean to hang up my clothes... but that doesn't usually happen.

I listen to podcasts while playing games on the computer, accomplishing absolutely nothing. I make smoothies and drink them straight out of the measuring cup so as not to dirty up another glass. I wander around with a fancy top on and yoga pants, or no pants at all.

I love some alone time! I do lots of talking to the dog, watch all kinds of terrible TV shows, usually order Chinese, but sometimes make myself some kind of junk food that my husband doesn't like - especially Kraft Mac and Cheese. Definitely sleep with lights and TV on because that keeps burglars away. Made me think of this Onion piece. Could only find video. Text is even funnier:http://www.theonion.com/video/study-average-person-becomes-unhinged-psychotic-wh,33761/

Hmmm, last time I was home alone I changed out of my pants and lounged in my underwear in bed with the cat reading the current installment of the "Outlander" novels and fell asleep with all the lights on around 9. Falling asleep in the middle of things with the cat is bound to occur on home alone nights.

I get into cleaning and organizing kicks. I'll iron, rearrange the cabinets, clean out the fridge etc. I also love to take long baths and paint my toe nails. I still cook decent meals and listen to podcasts, too.

I like to put all of my hair into tight tiny twists in the vein of "crazy eyes" from orange is the new black which looks less than flattering on me but feels amazing. Then I continue on doing whatever I would do if my husband were home.

Yep, yoga in my underwear in the living room. And writing and reading and watching whatever I want. I think my weirdest habit might be that I talk through my story that I'm writing out loud, so I'm basically talking to myself lol.

I love this - I have an evening alone in the house this Friday, and now I can't wait! I normally order chinese, drink too much wine, dance around the living room as if I'm the next Beyonce...then run to bed and close my eyes before any scary monsters catch me...

I read books when I'm alone and make something really good to eat that takes a lot of time. But, I can't really remember the last time I was at home and alone. It was at least 10.5 months ago, because that's how old my son is. Same age as Anton :)

I too worry about intruders lol. Always have, always will. I organize and get rid of stuff (these days anyway, we're hoping to move soon)... eat at odd times, and watch documentaries on YouTube that I probably shouldn't.

haha! i am seriously laughing out loud! i just had a baby 7 weeks ago, and i swear i've watched every single zumba video on youtube! as well as about a million other workouts on youtube, just trying to pump myself up to start working out again!

play records, sing along loudly, make pancakes, read, watch all of the netflix. all of it. In my comfy pants. And usually pretend i'm being interviewed by Conan or Jimmy Fallon at some point.(obviously for my new screen play that was made into an award winning movie and i had to take one for the team and plan the lead though i refuse to call myself an actress...or something like that) It always happens

Hahahaha I do yoga in the livingroom in my underwear, too!! I eat whatever I want whenever I want and I also dance like mad my favorite music around the house, also in underwear, of course. I love watching one or two seasons of my favorite series (two years ago, I watched season 3, 4 and final from Six Feet Under in 6 days. Yeah. 6 days), taking long, relaxing baths while I sing, being in my pajamas all day long –if not in my underwear or even naked–, sleeping while sunbathing in the terrace, allowing my turtles to run free around the living room –they LOVE it and I love watching them exploring–, reading while lying in the couch in weird poses, trying on all my clothes and feeling like a it girl but really looking like an enormous, insane 4 year old, walking in high heels and feeling pretty damn sexy even if wearing it with my pajamas, sleeping like a koala in the couch, in the floor, in my bed and in my parent's bed, wondering about stupid things, doing nothing. And I never get bored.

I LOVE reading all the comments and seeing how we all turn into giant weirdos when we're alone :) I love being home alone! I blast a playlist of insanely teeny bopper pop that my husband would never stand for and deep clean the kitchen and bathroom in pajamas and red lipstick and crazy winged eyeliner. Then I watch Bones (obsessed and there are SO MANY SEASONS) and paint my nails! It's the best.

Change into comfortable clothes, eat food that requires little to no cooking, and binge watch trashy TV or read a book. Or, more likely, I grade as many papers as I can before my husband gets home from coaching whatever sport is in season. Since he is a teacher at the same school we can get caught up in discussing the students or the assignments with each other and then it takes me about twice as long as it should.

I'm definitely the "mundane conversation with the dog." I also sing along to songs on Youtube while doing dishes. I know it's lame, but I get 99% of the cleaning done when I'm home alone because I enjoy doing it :)

Omg, this makes me SO happy. I was just sitting here eating rice cakes and Easter candy, just recognizing a twinge of guilt for...not going through my clothes.. When I found this post.Now I feel like I am in the company of friends!

I watch old black and white films that my boyfriend thinks are a snooze fest and I drink tea/coffee/wine depending on my mood and snuggle with my dog, Sophie. I used to have a really hard time being alone being someone who got energy from being around others. Now as I get older, I gain the energy to be with others by being alone.

I hide out in bed with some good books, magazines, or TV. I occasionally cook/bake or do yoga in my underwear too. :) Sometimes, since I have three roommates, I use the alone time to have a private chat (for hours) on the phone with my husband or best friend since they both live in other cities. Or we'll video chat for hours while doing our own thing... kind of like we're in the room together. Haha.

I love the illustration, I do a fair amount of these. I lower my expectations of what defines a meal, and instead invariably snack all day. My neatness also decreases, the socks stay longer on the floor. If I had a dog, i would most likely treat him or her as a therapist.

Try to avoid showering if I shower, spend as much time as possible in robe. Fridge dive for food or walk to the place next door and bring it back. Binge watch girly sitcoms or reality shows like Bar Rescue. Clean and/or organize the bathroom, closet or kitchen. Waste time on the internets.

Love this series! Emily McDowell is awesome. I definitely eat the weirdest things when I'm on my own! And I'll watch something awful on Netflix, like something super girly or with subtitles. And sing all day! haha. Being home alone is ok sometimes. :)

I have a toddler, so am not really alone, but when he's sleeping and husband is out, I usually surf the net - including the you tube videos of the "surprise - you're going to be grandparents" variety, try on the 10 shades of lipstick that I ignore in favour of the same couple day in and day out, and putter.

Ha! Tonight, husband is sick and went to bed super early, and kids are in bed, so I'm watching missed episodes of "Modern Family" and enjoying some wine and catching up on blogs. So apparently, this is what I do. :)

I a-l-w-a-y-s sing or whistle when I'm home alone. I look forward to those times :-) Additionally, I will confess that I eat strange meals if no one is around...a giant bowl of plain broccoli or ice cream totally counts as a meal!

For the first time in 3 years I was home alone for 36 hours last weekend. I said goodbye to everyone at 7pm, ate thai food in the bath (something my husband thinks is really weird) while watching The Americans, was in bed by 10, slept (until 6:45, damn internal clock), made myself eggs benedict AND bacon, read all the decorating magazines I subscribe to but never have time to read and did magazine tears and put them in the decorating binder with plastic sleeves that I never remember to use, decided that if my family was out of town I could have a martini lunch and made a huge pitcher of white sangria and ordered a large pizza, watched all of my DVRs of Flip or Flop, snooped in my daughters room and tried on half of the clothes in her closet and secretly thought I could pull some of them off despite the fact that I am not 13, ate the rest of the pizza and made more sangria and baked some cupcakes and ate half of the batch and watched DVRs of girl code that my daughter must have recorded and then I deleted them, went to sleep at 10:30. Slept in the next morning and rushed around cleaning up the evidence of mommy's debauchery. The troops were home before lunch.

My boyfriend is out of town for a week and a half, so tonight I invited my girlfriends over to drink wine on my deck. Usually I would watch horrible TV and eat too much. . which I did after they left. Now to get some sleep while ignoring the weird sounds. :) I also called my mom last night, which made me so thankful for her!

Wow, this was a great post. Also fun to read everybody else's weird **alone-in-the-house** routines, and identify so much with them ! I too watch awful rom coms, eat peanut butter/nutella right off the jar and actually use time alone to pretty much do whatever !

When I'm home alone, I sit on the living room floor and drink coffee while reading fashion magazines. I don't know why. Maybe I like taking up so much space, because when my two young kids are with me I just can't.

put on the cat shirt and the laundry day sweats. watch TV in bed instead of on the couch. eat indian food bc BF doesn't like it or just an assortment of mismatched snacks (cheese&cracker+asian noodles). talk to myself endlessly while the cat eavesdrops. sing Lisa Loeb STAY in the shower. loudly.

I love this topic! Gosh I love to be alone! It's my favorite time, if I can ever get it! I do many of the same things these other ladies do.... watch bad tv, paint nails, take a long bath, read till all hours of the night, and eat weird food (for me it's popcorn while drinking milk..yum!).